Top Ten Misconceptions About Mental Illness

"Get over it"?

Funny how people can just say to get over mental disorders when they take the term "mental illness" so seriously. Make up your minds. With the connotations the term "mentally ill" has in society, it's contradictory to just say to get over it. Besides, choosing to ignore someone who needs help is as cold and heartless as directly hurting them - after all, it's the same thing for all practical purposes.

This is like saying "You have asthma? Just get over it and breathe".

If you think about it, it's incredibly messed up!

Only about 1/10 of the population has depression. Sure, that may seem common compared to the 1/68 chance of having autism, 1/162 chance of getting Tourette's, and approximately 1/200 chance of having Downs Syndrome, but it still isn't in everyone

Only 1/10 of people get depressed.

Mental illness is not a sign of weakness. These kinds of negative attitudes are what cause suicide in the first place

Of course not. But the probability is off the chart compared to the general population.

Not every psychopath or sociopath become serial killers. Some just don't feel empathy for others

No. Barely any of them do. They just don't feel empathy for others

Actually, not all mental disorders are objectively bad. Autism is one of the most widely admired disorders by people who have it (such as me), and while it represents the origin of neurodiversity advocacy, it's not the only disorder to contribute to it, as other disorders also have good sides. I also have ADHD comorbid to said autism, for example, and it has its ups and down in my opinion; it's really not all bad.

Not to say some disorders aren't objectively bad, of course. Depression, OCD, anxiety disorders (which might include OCD anyway depending on the classification system), BPD...all of that is pretty much bad. Not cool for anyone to have at all.

Oh, so you think having panic attacks and killing yourself is COOL?! Wow.

Um, you know the light-bulb? Yeah, the guy who invented it was autistic. Albert Einstein was also autistic. Temple Grandin, Mozart, Bill Gates and probably a lot of people you know. So stop saying that.

That is stupid, wrong and offensive. Albert Einstein himself had Asperger's Syndrome. I'm fairly smart and I have autism too

I'm autistic and smart

I do not think so

The word "psycho" is a slur. Most people who actually have a psychotic disorder, like myself, find this term discriminatory and would rather not hear it. Perfectly mentally healthy folks who wear those "cute but psycho" shirts are not helping the alreay heavy stigma. Its not funny, its not cute, and it hurts people. Stop.
-3than

It's stupid how people confuse being asocial with being antisocial. Antisocial is a personality disorder.

No. Only people who fake it

I have two mental disorders and I do not wish to do harm on anyone

I have Tourette syndrome and I don't curse. I just blink my eyes, shrug my shoulders, and clear my throat